Chance to Change
by Jade Aislin
Summary: Life means change. So what do you get when you mix a misunderstood spell, a warped wish, and our favorite CSI guys? Simple, a chance to change everything.
1. One Spell, One Wish

Disclaimer: Buffy and CSI? Nope. Don't own em. I don't even own the DVDs. *sighs* I don't even have enough money to buy the DVDs. *pouts*  
Beta: Queen Sereya.  
Warning: There will be slash in this story as well as some character bashing of Buffy and Willow. If you do not like either of these, I suggest turning back now.

AN: This story is already complete and I will slowly be posting it to FFN.

* italics means _[[babbling]]/letter._

Chapter 1: One Spell, One Wish

"Willow!" Dawn stared in horror at the pile of clothes on the floor. "What did you do? Where's Xander?"

"Uh, We were doing this spell and he uh . . . he was uhm. . ." Willow said nervously. "There."

She nodded over to where Buffy was crouched down next to the mysterious pile of clothes that seemed to include a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt, a white undershirt, black jeans and a pair of boots.

"Can you imagine how embarrassed Xander must be without his clothes? You must have done some sort of telly-porty thingy, Willow," Buffy mused. She gingerly poked at the pile with her stake. Suddenly, the clothes let out a loud wail. Startled, Buffy fell back in surprise, her hands slapping hard against the floor as she barely managed to remain sitting upright. "What the . . .?"

Cautiously, Buffy picked up the shirt and tossed it to the side. The girls stared in shock at the crying baby, who was trying to do his best to show the world what a good set of lungs he had.

"Xander?" Willow squeaked.

"You shrunk him, Willow. Fix it," Buffy said, her voice rising to be heard over Xander's screams. Turning to the baby, she continued, "Stop screaming Xander! Willow will reverse the spell!"

Willow nodded her head, wincing as the wail increased in volume. She grabbed the big book lying beside her and started to frantically flip through the pages. Dawn muttered under her breath about idiot older sisters and overachiever friends as she reached over and bundled Xander in the t-shirt before cuddling him. The baby quieted down, now that he was warm and getting some nice hugs.

"She didn't shrink him, Buffy. She de-aged him. What were you doing anyway?" Dawn glared.

"It was only this simple little spell I read about," Willow babbled, _[["We've been drifting apart. I've been spending more time with Tara and Buffy has been struggling with everything that's happened and we've been leaving Xander alone so he could have a normal life, only Anya left him and he was going all depressy. And I found this neat little spell that would let us remember happier times when we were still innocent little kids and I thought it would bring us closer together, like we used to be so I started with Xander and . . . . . it's not supposed to do that"]]_

Dawn stared at her. "And you had Tara or Giles look over this spell, right?"

"Of course she did," Buffy said as Willow chewed on her bottom lip and looked away. Buffy looked at Willow. "Willow?"

"Not . . . . exactly."

"What do you mean, not exactly?"

Willow turned to look at Buffy. "Well. . . It was such an easy spell with the changes and I knew I could do it and it would have been a waste of their time to look it over. I checked it three times."

Buffy glared. "You changed the spell. Not only did you not get Giles to check it over, but you changed it?"

"It was an acceptable alteration. The book said so. I don't know what went wrong," Willow defended.

"Willow. . ."

"Call them," a firm voice spoke up. The two arguing girls turned to stare at the young teenager. Dawn held, a now sleeping, Xander in her arms. She stared at the two older girls. "Call them, now Willow. Or I will."

* * *

A few hours later Giles tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose before wiping off his glasses.

"Uh oh. He's wiping his glasses. That's not good. Hard to find ingredients or something? Need me to go gather yucky slime or something? Cuz I'm sure some demon around town that can help me find them," Buffy offered.

Giles looked over at the sleeping Xander, nestled safely in Tara's arms. Tara had been ignoring her pouting girlfriend, instead focusing on the now diapered infant. Giles sighed. "No Buffy. I'm afraid it's not that simple. Willow was correct that particular spell had an alternate form. However, unlike the basic memory spell, the one Willow used actually takes the target back to the last time they were truly happy and innocent. It's a type of renewal spell. It allows them to relive their lives. . . .and it's irreversible."

"But. . ." Willow squeaked.

"Sit down, you foolish little girl." Giles glared at her. Willow meeped and quickly fell down into the chair behind her. "I have warned you numerous times, not to perform witchcraft without absolute certainty of the results. And no, you do not have the necessary knowledge to be certain of any new spell you learn. You refused to share this spell with either Tara or myself and you deliberately altered it without knowing the full ramifications of your actions. So sit there and be quiet while we deal with your mess."

"What are we going to do?" Dawn asked. "I'm too young to take care of him."

Buffy shrugged when her sister looked at her. "I can't keep him. I'm looking after you. Maybe we could give him to his parents."

Willow bit her lip, but slowly nodded her head. Dawn leapt up and looked at Buffy in shock. "What?"

Xander stirred slightly, but quickly fell back asleep. "Dawnie, I can't look after a baby. What with slaying and work. Tara and Willow have school. It's the best option."

"It is not and you know it. You want to put Xander with his drunk, abusive parents and hope that he grows up?"

"Now Dawn, Xander's parents may drink a little, but they didn't abuse him," Buffy spoke up. "I would have seen it."

Willow nodded in agreement.

Dawn snorted. "Yeah, right. You two didn't see much about what really went on with Xander. You never saw the scars or the bruises. I saw more than either of you ever did."

"Dawnie, Xander's just clumsy. He finds vamps by falling in empty graves. You know tha. . ."

"You don't get hand shaped bruises from falling into a six foot deep hole, Buffy. And that one was two months before you graduated. Remember, you went into overprotective mode. You made sure every night that Willow and Xander got home safe. There's no way he could've run into some demon without you knowing about it."

Giles replaced his glasses. "Regardless of what may or may not have happened before, none of us is capable of taking care of an infant. Nor does our lifestyle lend itself to raising a young child. If what Dawn says is true, then there is only one option available to us. Perhaps the best thing would be to hand him over to foster care."

"But Giles!"

"Xander has to stay near us, Giles. Where we can keep him safe. I did this. I have to take responsibility."

"No!" Giles slammed his hands down on the table, quieting both girls. "Look at yourself, Buffy. You've already died twice. What do you think would happen to Xander if his caretaker died suddenly? Xander cannot stay. Foster care is truly the only option."

Buffy and Willow looked at each other before nodding reluctantly. Dawn seemed to be the only one willing to protest. "You can't seriously be thinking about turning Xander over to the state? In this town, that's almost as bad as giving him back to those drunks. They'd probably hand him back to them anyways."

And the arguing began again.

As the others fought, one person remained silent. She stared at the content babe in her arms, listening to all the arguments about the future of the baby. She thought about her terrible childhood and what Dawn had hinted at. She thought about what Giles had said about the spell sending the target to the age they last felt happy and innocent and what it meant that Xander was now less than two years old. Finally, as the voices quieted down, she thought out the words in her head and made her decision.

Softly, Tara's voice spoke, "I wish Xander could grow up in a safe place, where he would have a family to protect him and love him for who he is."

There was a frozen silence as everyone in the room realized the true weight of those words. The others turned to stare at the quiet witch in horror. They all knew the dangers of the words "I wish", especially in Sunnydale. They looked down at the baby, sleeping in Tara's arms. Maybe no one had heard the wish. But just as Buffy was about to sigh in relief, they heard those dreaded words.

"Wish granted." In a flash, Xander disappeared.

* * *

The wish demon sent him toward the east coast. There was a criminalist there who could use a little Xander. He was perfect for the role of father. He may not have had much of a real family, but he had a support system with his friends and coworkers. Not to mention being the head of his lab, he could afford a small child and his people would love the boy. Xander would be well protected.

Not staying to watch Xander arrive, the demon hurried off to grant the next wish. Unfortunately, Buffy and Willow were not the only ones who wanted to keep Xander there. And unlike the girls, this being could do something about the wish.

Not many people realized it, but hellmouths weren't just openings between dimensions, they were also semi sentient beings, stuck in one place. Now, a hellmouth couldn't think or reason like a human, it only had the mental capacity of a dog. But it could form likes and dislikes. And the Sunnydale hellmouth liked Xander.

After all, the boy had spent nearly his whole life growing up over it. From being born on top of the hellmouth to hiding out in the library's hallways. Even as a young boy, when not spending time with his friends, the hellmouth would feel Xander creeping around near its opening. The child never touched any of the books, but seemed to enjoy spending time there. It was easy to hide in the high school's big library and no one ever noticed him there. That was why demons always found Xander irresistible and why the hellmouth had always protected him.

That was why, when the hellmouth felt its favorite human being wished away, it tried to pull him back. Unfortunately, the wish was too strong. The hellmouth pulled as hard as it could on the magical wave its Xander was in and tried to pull him back to Sunnydale, but Xander didn't quite make it.

* * *

/Las Vegas, Sundown/

A grey haired gentleman was almost ready for work. He grabbed his kit, checking his small pets before heading toward the door. He checked his house over before grabbing his keys. He had shut and locked his door, heading for his car before he noticed the baby carrier sitting innocently on his front porch. He glanced around, but couldn't see any signs of how the baby had gotten there. The baby appeared to be sleeping soundly with a note stuck in the side of the carrier. Taking out some gloves, he quickly reached for the note sticking out of the seat, being careful to not waken the sleeping infant.

_"Dear Sir,  
You won't remember me. But what I tell you is the truth. Xander is your son. I can't keep him. He needs you. Please protect Alexander and give him a happy childhood."_

It was funny how things worked out. Unable to go to the parent that had been originally chosen, the magic had to settle for someone who was as close to the original as possible. Luckily for the parentless infant, he had landed in the best possible place to meet all the requirements of the wish.

Gil Grissom put the note down and stared at his supposed son. "Now what?"

Tbc.

Next time: Sara meet Xander, Xander meet Sara


	2. Sara meet Xander, Xander meet Sara

Disclaimer: See Chapter One  
Beta: Queen Sereya  
Warning: small hint of slash

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to post this. Real life got me and I never realized I hadn't been updating. The story is complete so I'll try to post at least a chapter a week.

Chapter 2: Sara meet Xander, Xander meet Sara

Sara walked into the break room, her head bent as she focused on the folder she was holding. She was a few hours early for her shift, but she had planned to come in to review a big case she had worked on. She was set to testify next week and she wanted to have everything fresh in her head.

"Sara!" Sara looked up startled as Grissom rushed in holding a small box of evidence in one hand and some bulky thing that couldn't be what she thought it looked like in the other. "Good. You're here."

"Yeah. I was just going over the Stevens Ca. . . ." She trailed off as Grissom placed what was definitely a baby carrier, one of those ones that also worked as a car seat, on the table. What was Grissom doing with a baby carrier? She peered at the carrier. And with a baby in it too!

"Can you watch him? These samples need to be processed." With that, he walked briskly out the door, a determined look on his face.

"Ah . . . I. …guess."

Sara stared at the baby. The baby was sitting up in its carrier, its head resting against the back as it slept peacefully. It was dressed in a silvery blue onesie that looked expensive and a blanket of the same material covering its legs. Glancing over the baby, she noticed it had a tiny band-aid on the crook of his arm. She wondered if the baby had had blood drawn. Why would Grissom do that? Was the baby involved in some sort of case? She shook her head. Well it didn't concern her, she decided.

Finishing her perusal of the infant, she frowned thoughtfully as she considered Grissom's order. What was she supposed to do with it? She had no idea how to handle a little kid, let alone a helpless baby. It was sleeping. That was good. She could go over her notes for the upcoming trial. Grissom would be back soon to explain. And he'd better explain.

After three hours, Sarah sighed. She'd gone over the whole case and was ready for next week. Rubbing the back of her neck, she looked at the clock she realized how long it had been. It was almost time for her shift to begin. She glanced at the door. Where was Grissom? Lucky for her the baby was still sleeping.

Sara glanced at the baby and froze. The infant's eyes blinked open. It looked at her. She looked at it. The baby's eyes darted around the room before he let out a small whimper.

Sara stood up, placing her folder on the table. She frantically looked out the door, hoping to see Grissom coming. Unfortunately, the hallway was unusually empty. It was almost time for shift change. The corridor should be full of both night and swing shift people as they switched over. . . Where was everyone?

The baby's eyes scrunched up as it whimpered. Sara walked over to the baby. "Hey," she said not sure what to do, "It's okay. Don't cry."

The baby's eyes darted around the room again before crying softly. Sara also quickly looked around the empty room. What was wrong with the baby? Grissom hadn't left any supplies. No bottles, no diapers, no toy. Sara looked the infant over. Maybe it was hungry or thirsty or . . . Sara made a face. She didn't have any diapers, but she should probably check. Grimacing, she reached down to check its diaper. The baby quieted down to sniffles and looked at Sara curiously. Sara stepped back with a sigh of relief. The boy was dry and quiet.

"Waaaaaaaaa." Sara winced. It seemed she had relaxed too soon. She looked around the room and noticed the vending machines. Maybe it was thirsty. She grabbed some change and went to get some water. She didn't have a baby bottle for the baby, but it looked big enough to sip from a water bottle with help.

Twisting off the cap, she tipped the bottle toward the baby's mouth. But the baby turned its head. It screamed louder and flailed its arms. His arm struck her wrist. She jerked back in surprise, splashing water all over the baby's front. "Shit."

The baby, who was now not only unhappy but also wet, cried even louder. Sara felt like screaming herself. She didn't know what was wrong with the baby. She just wished someone would help her.

"Hey Sara, my main girl." Greg poked his head in. He glanced around the room and grinned as he walked in, one hand held a piece of paper. "You cheating on me with a younger guy? What seems to be the problem?"

She snorted. "Hardly. Grissom asked me to watch him. I don't know what's wrong. He's not thirsty. He's not wet." Greg glanced at the baby's front. "The diaper isn't Greg. Why is he crying?"

"Well," Greg said, placing the paper to the side as he started to unbutton the baby's clothes. "Being in wet clothes can't be too comfortable. Right, kiddo? Let's get you changed." He smiled at the crying baby. The baby stared at the new person. He hadn't stopped crying, but his cries were softer.

"And how am I supposed to change him? He doesn't have any other clothing and the blankets wet too. You want to just leave him in his diaper?"

"Nope. Then we'd be cold. Wouldn't we squirt? They keep the AC up around here." Greg finished getting the infant undressed. He handed the baby over to Sara who held the infant awkwardly. Gripping the front of his shirt, he took it off. He took the infant back from Sara and proceeded to expertly bundle the crying infant in his shirt. He then held the baby against his chest.

"You used your shirt!"

"It's clean. I just changed." Greg bounced slightly as he walked around the room. Amazingly, the infant quieted down.

Sara shook her head. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you had the night off." She glanced at the baby who was smiling. "And how did you do that?"

Greg grinned. "I was helping out swing shift DNA. Was just finishing up. As for this little guy . . . you just gotta know what they want."

"What's that?"

"What does every guy want? To be held, Sara. To be held. Preferably in warm loving arms of a lady that's just. . . "

Sara held up her hand. "I get the picture."

Greg grinned. "You wanna hold him?"

She held up her hands and backed away. "Ah . . . no."

"Where's your shirt, Greg?"

Sara gasped and whirled around.

"Oh. Hey Gris. This little guy needed it." Greg bounced the baby up making him giggle.

Greg continued to play with the now happy baby as Grissom and Sara stared. He could feel their eyes on him. Actually, it felt like even more eyes were on him. It felt like a more heated gaze, one that seemed to be staring right through him. He decided to ignore it in favor of keeping the infant entertained.

"Greg?"

"Yeah, Sara?"

"How'd you know what to do? You're an only child. So were your parents."

"Oh, that's easy. In college, I had this roommate. He had three kids. His wife was constantly leaving them with him. The youngest was two years old."

"So you watched this roommate with his kids."

"Daniel? No way. He didn't want to watch them either. They were good kids, but Daniel couldn't be bothered to take care of them. He paid me to watch them. I made good money too. Paid for my books my first year as a post grad at NYU."

Throughout the conversation, Grissom continued to stare at Greg patiently. Finally, tired of waiting, Grissom prompted. "You have something for me?"

Greg looked up. "Huh? Oh yeah. Over there." He nodded over to the piece of paper he had put down earlier. Grissom moved to read the paper. "I compared the samples. They had seven alleles in common. Both male. Definitely father and son."

Grissom's head jerked up. Noticing the sudden movement, Sara looked at Grissom, who had a stunned look on his face. He was staring at the baby happily grabbing at Greg's mouth and nose. "You okay, Grissom?"

Grissom blinked at Sara. "Hmm. . . Yes."

"Hey Nick, you wanna move. I'd like to put my lunch in the fridge and you're in the way," Warrick's voice came from the doorway where Nick had been standing. Greg looked up startled. How long had Nick been there? Why was he just standing there? What was he staring at?

Grissom slowly approached Greg. "May I?" He indicated the baby. Greg turned back to Grissom and quickly handed him over. Grissom stared down at the baby in his arms, an amazed look on his face.

Warrick nudged Nick's back, prompting to again move. Nick tore his eyes away from his topless coworker, blushing lightly as he entered the room.

Warrick put his lunch away and then turned around. He noticed the baby in Grissom's arms. "Cute kid. Who is he?"

Grissom looked up, his eyes wide. "Apparently, my son."

Tbc. Next time: Grissom, where have you been?


	3. Grissom, where have you been?

Disclaimer: See Chapter One  
Beta: Queen Sereya  
Warning: small hint of slash

Chapter 3: Grissom, where have you been?

"What?"

"The samples I gave you were from Xander and myself. Doc Robbins extracted our blood when we came in," Grissom said, nodding his head at first the band-aid on his arm and then the one on Xander.

The group stared in shock at Grissom. It was during that stunned silence that Catherine walked in, her head down as she rummaged through her purse. Noticing the rest of the team, she stopped and raised her head, her hand still in the purse.

"Hey guys, are we having a team meeting?" She stilled as she realized the unnatural silence around her. Looking up, she blinked at all the quiet faces turned toward her. She quickly took in the scene, blinking at the infant in Grissom's arms. "What's going on?"

"Grissom," Sara spoke, "Was just about to explain how he has a son."

Now every head turned to Grissom. Ignoring their looks, Grissom walked over to the carrier and gently placed the sleeping Xander back in it. He turned around to face his people.

"When I was leaving for work, I found him on my doorstep."

"Any trace?" asked Sara, already treating it like a crime scene.

"None. No fingerprints. No footprints. No transfer. Just what was on the baby and a note saying he was mine."

Catherine looked thoughtful. "So, you brought him in to test paternity?"

"Yes."

"Which Greg confirmed?"

"Yes."

"So you waited in DNA for three hours?" Sara spoke up slightly irritated by being left with the baby for so long.

Grissom blinked and looked over. "I dropped off other evidence." Explaining further, "The baby, Xander, was covered in this glittery residue. It was all over the car seat."

The others turned to look. Sure enough, there was some sort of glittery substance on the car seat. Nick reached over and ran his finger through the substance. Rubbing his fingers together, he looked at the tip of his finger. "I can see the glitter, but I don't feel anything."

"And the baby doesn't have any of it on him?" Greg spoke up, frowning. He looked at the car seat and then at the baby.

Grissom nodded. "I know. It seems to have evaporated."

"So what did trace say about the glitter?" Greg asked chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully.

"Nothing. No one was in; I left the sample for Hodges."

"Was that all?" Nick spoke up, finally focusing on the facts.

"No. I took the note to QD. They couldn't tell me much. The paper was standard printer paper. The pen, ballpoint. Both you can find at any office store. And the writing was too general for them to say anything about it. "

"That's why you were gone so long?" Sara asked.

"Yes. Oh and I had to explain why I missed the supervisor meeting and fill out the forms for Catherine's temporary control of the lab."

"What?" Grissom winced. That cry had seemed even louder than the  
one before. Everyone in the room had participated, except for Catherine. Instead, she had a thoughtful look on her face.

Catherine glanced at Xander and then looked at Grissom. "You're taking leave to take care of him?"

"Yes. I live in a house suitable for a bachelor, not a child. I don't have the things I need to take care of an infant. I need to focus on Xander, not work. Once things are settled, I'll be back."

Catherine nodded in understanding. "I'll give you the name of the nanny service I've used in the past."

"Thank you, Catherine. Tonight's scenes are on my desk. Greg, can you tell me anything about the mother?"

"Wait a minute," Nick piped up, "Wouldn't you know who you slept with? Not to be rude, Grissom. But I never thought of you as the one night stand sort."

Grissom raised his eyebrow. "I'm not. I also haven't been with a lady in over five years."

Nick's eyes widened and he mouthed `five years'. Grissom ignored Nick and turned back to Greg.

"Huh? Oh, well determining paternity for you and the baby was simple, especially with the big reference sample you gave me." Greg frowned as he explained, "But, as you know, full analysis, even of pristine samples, will take a few days."

Grissom frowned at Greg's words. "Pristine sample? Was there something wrong with the blood I gave you?"

Greg shook his head reluctantly. "No. . . Your blood was perfectly normal."

"But Xander's?" Grissom asked fearfully.

Greg bit his lip. "Well there seemed to be something warping the DNA on the other side. It looked like some form of radiation and it seemed to be distorting the results."

Catherine gasped.

Grissom took a deep breath. "Dangerous?"

Greg shook his head. "No I don't think so. It just might take a little longer to decode his DNA."

Grissom took a deep breath in relief. "Good. Let me know the results the minute you have them Greg. My cell will be on. I will see you all in a couple weeks."

With that, Grissom picked up the carrier and walked out already thinking about what supplies he and Xander would need for the night. The rest of the group glanced at each other in silence. Then Greg clapped his hands together. The others turned to stare at him.

"Well, guess this means I'm off to the locker for another shirt," Greg said as he walked out the door. Catherine followed to talk with Greg about his hours. Sara sighed and gathered the file she had been reading.

Warrick glanced at Nick and noticed how Nick seemed to be staring at the doorway in thought, his cheeks a light pink. Warrick grinned and nudged his best friend. Nick jumped startled and turned toward Warrick.

"You ready for a fun night?" Warrick joked.

Nick blinked in surprise and then grinned. "If it's anything like the start, it's going to be a blast."

Tbc.

Next time: Your Bass, My Hodeses


	4. Your Bass, My Hodeses

Chapter 4  
Disclaimer: See Chapter One  
Beta: Queen Sereya

Chapter 4: Your Bass, My Hodeses

Grissom walked into Trace, holding Xander against his side. He knew that Xander shouldn't be back in the lab, but no one had been in the break room. He'd just have to watch him carefully. It would only be for a few minutes. Gently, he placed Xander at his feet so he could feel the baby leaning against his leg.

Xander had already overfed the pet cockroaches at home. Grissom wasn't sure if he should be proud of his son or chastise him. Not only was Xander able to remember where he had placed the pet food, but he had been able to get the almost full container of food poured into the cockroach tank. It was not the way Grissom had wanted to discover Xander was crawling.

Hodges looked up from his scope and saw Grissom waiting on him. "Grissom."

"Did you get the results from the things I left you?"

"Of course, I put your samples ahead of everything else." Hodges paused for moment before continuing, "The fabric was a silk cashmere blend, a very expensive blend and very rare at that. Few textile companies make that particular blend ratio."

Hodges handed over a paper that listed a small number of companies. "Funny enough, none of the companies that make that grade of cloth, had that color blue. Nor have they ever had that color."

"You researched. I'm impressed."

Hodges looked smug. "Yes, well, I know how important this was to you."

Grissom stared. "And the glitter?"

Hodges lost his smug appearance as he discreetly pulled up his right pant leg. "The glitter?"

Grissom frowned. "Yes. The glitter. I left two samples for you to analyze three days ago."

"Uh. I was able to do an initial analysis. Then someone in the lab tried to make a fool of me."

Grissom stared. "A fool?"

Hodges nodded. "Yes. I ran the mass spec. It didn't register in the machine. While I was having the machine looked at, someone swiped the samples."

Grissom raised his eyebrow.

Hodges defended himself, "There were two sample dishes out. Someone switched the labels."

Grissom just stared.

Hodges reached across the table and grabbed the sample dish he had put off to the side two days ago. He handed it over to Grissom before shaking his leg slightly.

Grissom examined the sample dish. There was nothing in it. He looked at the label on the top. He looked up at Hodges. "This is my handwriting."

Hodges blinked. "Yes. QD confirmed it."

Grissom looked at the label again. He lifted up the dish to stare at the top. "Hodges. This is the dish I gave you. No one switched the label."

"But they must have!"

Grissom shook his head. "No this label hasn't been moved. There's a small wrinkle on the top from when I placed it there." Hodges frowned, as Grissom looked at him and asked, "When did the glitter substance disappear?"

Hodges looked at him in confusion. "Uh . . . well I left the samples between 10 and 10:45 that night. Why?"

"Because, the rest of the glitter vanished from Xander's carrier at 10:30."

"Xander? Carrier? What are you – umph!" Hodges looked down wondering what had hit his leg. At his feet was a little brown haired boy looking up at him innocently. Now that the child had his attention, the child grinned. He lunged and latched himself to Hodges leg, hugging it.

"What is that?" Hodges asked horrified.

"That is my son, Xander. I guess he wanted to meet you." Grissom said dryly.

Hodges paled and he glanced at Grissom's unsympathetic face. He glanced back down at the little boy. "Well . . . uh . . . he's got a strong grip."

Grissom smiled. Crouching down he pried Xander off Hodges. Xander pouted as Grissom held him. "Find out how the substance evaporated. Come on Xander, We've got to go see Uncle Greg. Say bye to Hodges."

Xander smiled and flailed his free arm at Hodges. Hodges stared as they left.

* * *

Greg looked up as Grissom entered DNA carrying Xander. Xander saw Greg and immediately reached for him. Greg smiled and reached out to catch a lunging Xander. "Hi, Xander. What have you and Papa Gris been up to?"

Xander beamed. He patted at Greg's lips. Greg blew raspberries at his fingers, making Xander grin and giggle. Grissom smiled fondly. "Greg, you wanted us to come in?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I had some problems breaking down Xander's DNA."

Grissom frowned. "The lab's rated one of the top in the country. And you weren't able to break down Xander's DNA?"

Greg handed Xander back to his father. He sighed and ran a hand through tousled hair. "We might be in the top five, but Miami's got all the new equipment. They've got grants to test the newest forensic technology." Greg paused before continuing, "I'm going to send the samples down there. They can break the DNA down within a couple days and send the results back. It should take about a week."

Grissom nodded. He studied Greg who seemed to be hesitating on saying something else. "Was there something else? You could have told me that over the phone."

"I . . . wanted to take some more reference samples from Xander. A cheek swab, some hair." Greg rushed to explain, "Nothing harmful. But the more samples we have, the better chance we have of finding the mother."

Grissom looked down at his son. Xander was quietly sitting in his arms, playing with his shirt button. Grissom looked back at Greg and nodded his compliance.

Greg took the samples and Grissom watched as he bundled them up for Air Mail. "So, you get everything you needed the other night?"

Grissom nodded. "Yes, thank you for giving me the run down of necessities."

Greg gave a small smile and shrugged. "It was nothing. I just wanted to make sure Xander had everything he needed."

Grissom smiled and headed toward the door as Greg turned back to his evidence. He paused in the doorway and turned around. "Oh, Greg?"

Greg turned around. "Yes?"

"Ecklie called me." Greg frowned as Grissom continued, "he wanted to know about your hours."

Greg studied the floor.

"You were supposed to start your vacation two nights ago. You're not a DNA tech anymore and you've been working in the lab every night."

Greg nodded. "I know. But Dan, the swing shift DNA tech, asked if I could help them catch up before my vacation. Then I wanted to help with Xander's results. Then Mia was in an accident. She's fine. A couple broken bones, some bruises. But I offered to take over her shift until she's better."

"Greg, you're almost out of overtime."

Greg sighed. "I know, Gris. But I couldn't pile it all on Dan. I switched my vacation to near Thanksgiving. I already gave the forms to Catherine to approve."

Grissom stared at his CSI and nodded. Greg turned back to his work as Grissom and Xander left.

* * *

Grissom was headed for the door when he saw someone he had been meaning to talk to. "Jim!"

Detective Brass turned around. His eyes widened at the sight of Xander. "Come into my office, Gil."

Brass let Grissom into his office before shutting the door. "I haven't seen you for the past couple days and when I do, you've got a kid?"

Grissom smiled. "Xander was left on my doorstep last Friday."

Jim looked at the toddler. He was clutching Grissom tightly, his head tucked into the man's chest. He peeked at Jim's face only to hide when Jim smiled at him. Jim looked at Grissom questioningly.

"Jim, this is my son, Xander. Say hi to Jim Brass, Xander." Jim sat down abruptly in shock, his eyes wide as the toddler waved his arm half-heartedly.

"Wha? How?"

Grissom put Xander down in the chair next to him. He took a deep breath to prepare to explain to his friend what had been going on. A knock on the door interrupted him.

Brass frowned as an officer opened the door. "Detective Brass, Sir? I needed to speak with you—"

"Not now." The officer glanced at Grissom before looking at Brass questioningly. Brass sighed. "Give me ten minutes Lakes."

The officer glanced at Grissom again before nodding and leaving the room.

Brass eyed his friend expectantly. Grissom launched into his tale including Xander's early morning foray into being helpful.

Xander eyed his big person, his. . . What was he? He wasn't Daddy. He didn't know how he knew, he just did. Big guy wasn't Daddy. What had the funny guy called him? Oh yeah, his Papa. His Papa. Well his Papa was talking to his Bass and being really boring and not playing with him. He should find something more fun to do until his Papa was done talking to Papa's Bass. That decided, Xander quietly got himself down from the chair and crawled toward the open door.

"I'm worried about his lack of speech. He should be babbling and uttering his first words around his age," Grissom was explaining, "He doesn't always respond to noise."

Brass looked concerned. "Do you think he's deaf?"

Grissom sighed. "I don't know. There's been a few times it looked like he was reacting to a sound. A car outside. The cart crashing at the store. Sometimes though, I call his name and he doesn't look at me until I'm standing over him. I've started teaching sign language to him and he's got an appointment tomorrow with the pediatrician."

Brass nodded and looked over at Xander. His eyes widened and he stood up abruptly.

Grissom looked over and gasped. "Xander!"

Grissom jumped out of his chair and searched the room frantically. "Where did he go? The door was closed. . ."

Grissom paused. He turned to the open door, and then turned to Brass. Their eyes met as they both came to the same realization.

"Lakes!" Brass swore.

* * *

Xander looked around at all the busy people rushing around him. No one noticed him and one of them could step on him. Getting scared, he decided to look for someone safe. The funny guy or the other one. The Hodeses. He was nice. He'd find his Hodeses and be safe. He looked around before crawling off in determination.

* * *

Hodges moved around his lab. He paid no attention to the people outside his lab. If they needed him they'd come see him. He started to prepare a new slide. He had an idea what the substance was, but he had to be sure. As he was about to move to get a chemical, he did something he would deny to the day he died.

He shrieked.

He looked down and groaned. He glanced out the door, hoping no one had heard his yelp that didn't sound the least bit girlish. No one seemed to be running. Pushing the acidic chemical and samples away from the edge he finally frowned down at the grinning toddler. The boy was hugging his leg tightly with one arm. His other arm was held against his body, his thumb in his mouth.

"You shouldn't be here. Where is your father?" Hodges scolded. Xander pouted, Hodges glanced out the window for Grissom. Surely, he was looking for his son. He looked back down at Xander. "You can't stay here. It's too dangerous. There are many idiots around here that could wind up hurting you."

Xander gave him some puppy eyes. Hodges frowned. He looked at his evidence. He couldn't leave the room. He glanced at the toddler who looked up at him hopefully. Then he looked across the room. Hodges sighed as he took off his gloves. "Fine."

Bending down, he picked Xander up. Holding the child at arms length, Xander giggled as Hodges brought him over to a chair that had been left in a corner. "You sit there. Understand?"

Xander blinked at him, sucking his thumb again. Hodges shook his head and went back to his work, glancing at Xander periodically. Grissom would be pleased that he had kept his son from harm. This way the child wouldn't be running or crawling, as the case may be, around. Someone would come for him eventually.

* * *

Hodges glanced over at his captivated audience. He'd never had such an attentive audience before. It was amazing how quiet the toddler was. As if he knew Hodges preferred it that way. It almost made him like the child.

"Xander!" A worried voice yelled.

Xander looked over to see his papa frowning from the doorway. Xander frowned back. Grissom strode in and swept up his son in his arms, clutching him tightly. "You don't wander away like that, young man. You had me worried something had happened to you."

Xander blinked in confusion. He patted his papa on the cheek trying to make him feel less sad. Grissom looked him over for any cuts or bruises before turning to Hodges. "Thank you for watching him, Hodges."

Hodges smiled pleased. "It was no trouble, Grissom. He's been sitting in that chair watching me for the past hour. I knew someone would be down here eventually looking for him."

Grissom blinked. "He staid still. Xander never stays still."

Hodges began to grin smugly. "I just have the touch."

"Maybe." Grissom again looked down at his son to make sure he hadn't been injured. Finished his check, he looked Hodges over. "But now I know who to call when I need a babysitter. Thanks again, Hodges."

Hodges stared, his mouth open to protest, as Grissom left the room. Maybe that hadn't gone as well as he had hoped.

Tbc.

Next time: Who's the Mommy?


	5. Who's the Mommy?

Disclaimer: See Chapter One  
Beta: Queen Sereya

Chapter 5: Who's the Mommy?

It had been three days since Grissom had stopped by the lab. Today was the first day the whole group was able together for breakfast/dinner before heading home. Grissom had even promised to stop by with Xander. Most of the group was there already, looking over menu. Jim Brass had dragged himself in, plopping into a chair with a grunt a few minutes ago. Only a few of the night crew were missing, but they'd be there soon.

"Come on Greggo," Nick said from the door, "You need to eat something before you pass out."

He was dragging Greg by the wrist. Greg, his cheeks tinted pink, was busily trying to pry Nick's hand off his wrist with no result. "I'm fine, Nick. Really"

Nick paused and studied Greg carefully. "No, Greg. You're not. You're pale. There's bags under your eyes. You've been working overtime at the lab for the past week and when you're not there, I know you've been helping Grissom out with Xander."

Releasing Greg, Nick planted his hands on his hips. "Now, you are going to enter this diner and have a nice hot meal and then we are going to head to your apartment and you are going to get the sleep you need."

Greg's eyes widened and his pale cheeks blushed slightly as he looked down at the floor. The group that was already in the diner snickered at the drama between the two men.

"While that whole speech might have been inspiring, Nick. You're blocking my way to the food, again." Warrick spoke up from behind the duo. Both men glanced back to see Warrick looking at them in amusement.

Both blushing, they made their way over to the table. Greg sitting down in an empty chair with Nick immediately plopping down across from him.

After watching the group chatting for a few minutes, the waitress went over, a pad in her hand. "Are you guys ready to order?"

Nick glanced to Greg's other side where the empty highchair stood with the last empty chair beside it. "Not just yet. We've got one more coming."

The waitress glanced at the empty chairs and nodded. "Well, you just let me know when you are."

Grissom quickly arrived with Xander. Soon after, everyone had ordered and the group began chatting about their jobs and lives, only stopping momentarily when the food arrived.

"So, how's Xander doing?" Catherine asked, knowing that Grissom had been scheduled to take the child to the doctors.

Grissom glanced at his son, who was happily playing with the cheerios in front of him, smashing his hand against them. The cheerios seemed to be disappearing, but it didn't look like Xander was chewing on them. "He's fine. The pediatrician said he was a perfectly healthy 18 month old boy."

"What about your otosclerosis?" Catherine asked. "Does he have it?"

Grissom shook his head. "There's no sign of it. And it takes years to show. But we won't know for sure until we do a full genetic makeup on Xander."

He looked over at Greg, who had his spoon sticking straight out of the bowl, his head rested against one palm that was propped up on the table. The others looked at the silent former DNA tech. He blinked and looked at Grissom. "Hmmm? ... Oh! Yes. That's no problem once Miami sends the results back."

"Greg, you really are tired, aren't you?" Catherine asked.

"Here," Nick said, plopping down some buttered toast next to Greg's meal, "Eat."

Greg picked up the toast and nibbled at it before he put it down to go back to stirring his oatmeal.

Turning from the oblivious Greg, Brass looked at the child in concern. "Grissom what about his hearing? You said yourself, at his age he should be talking, at least a few words."

Grissom smiled. "The doctor said he was developing normally. He passed all the hearing tests. Some toddlers just take longer before they start talking. When he's ready, he'll talk."

Grissom patted Xander's head. Xander stopped what he was doing and turned to his papa curiously. Seeing the smiling face, he beamed up at him. Xander turned back to his tray, only to find it empty. Pouting he turned back to his papa, but he was talking to the others. Well all except for funny guy who was listlessly stirring his food and friendly guy, the one who was always staring at funny guy. Friendly guy was smiling at him. The guy was happy that he was helping. But he needed more round things to help. So, he needed to get his papa's attention. Xander frowned. How could he get Papa's attention? Well, maybe he could try what he'd seen others do.

"Papa!"

The group turned in shock as Xander called out. Grissom stared at the child, a stunned look in his eyes. His son had said his first word. He grinned and suddenly everyone seemed to want him to say it again. Xander just pouted. No one seemed to be paying attention to him. They were just gushing over him saying his first word and wanting him to repeat it. Xander huffed; he had important things to do. He slapped his hands against his tray.

Finally, the group quieted down, realizing Xander wasn't going to repeat the word. Instead, he stared at Grissom. Now that he had his attention, Xander started moving his hands in the motions his papa had showed him. Grissom frowned and studied his son's hand motions.

"More? More what?" Grissom asked. "What do you want son? More cheerios? You've got a good appetite this morning."

Grissom quickly poured a small pile of the small tan colored cereal on Xander's tray. Xander beamed at him.

Nick snickered. "I don't think he wants more cheerios to eat, he just wants to feed Greg. He hasn't eaten one cheerio yet."

Greg blinked in confusion. "What? What are you talking about?"

Nick nodded at Greg's bowl of oatmeal. Greg looked down at his oatmeal. Frowning, he used his spoon to poke at some tan lumps that had mysteriously appeared in it. He watched as a single cheerio suddenly landed in his bowl. He looked up startled to see Xander concentrated on the food in front of him. Making sure each piece made its way into the unappealing bowl of oatmeal.

"Xander's been plopping his cheerios in your oatmeal for the past five minutes. I guess I'm not the only one who thinks you need to eat more Greggo."

Greg blushed. Xander patted Greg's hand and beamed. Everyone else laughed.

* * *

Greg watched nervously as Grissom walked into the DNA lab. He wrung his hands worriedly. He wasn't sure how he was going to tell him. It had been two days since that dinner and he had just found out the news today. He knew that Grissom wanted the results as soon as possible.

Grissom looked Greg over. "Looks like you got some rest since the other day."

Greg nodded.

"You have the results."

Greg chewed on his bottom lip. "Uhmmm. . . not exactly."

Grissom frowned.

"I'm really sorry about this Grissom. I would have told you sooner, but I just found out tonight. I don't know why I wasn't informed. I guess there was some sort of mix up and Miami thought we had it and we thought they had it and the airline never got confirmation of having it and. . . "

"Greg! Slow down. What are you talking about?" Grissom tried to calm Greg down.

""They lost it and ..." Greg mumbled the rest.

Grissom frowned. "Destroyed? Destroyed what?"

Greg blushed. He had forgotten that Grissom could read lips. "Uhh. . . . the samples I took from Xander."

Grissom raised his eyebrow.

"No one knows how it happened. The airline says they never received the package. Neither did the delivery guy. Even though I signed the paper work. But I can't find it now. It wasn't until tonight that Valera from Miami Dade called to ask about the package and we realized that something had happened."

Grissom blinked. "You said something about it being destroyed?"

Greg nodded. "Yes. I was finally able to track the package of samples down. It was at the airport. But somehow, all the samples were contaminated. There's no shred of good DNA left from it."

Grissom sighed. "So you need more, right?"

Greg nodded.

"I'll go get Xander from Nick."

Greg smiled. "He still trying to get Xander to say Daddy?"

Grissom nodded. "Yes. I have enough trouble getting him to call me Papa, but he refuses Daddy. I swear he looks at Nick like he's crazy for trying."

Greg snickered and watched as Grissom left to collect his son. Hopefully there would be no problem this time.

* * *

The hellmouth wasn't happy. It had used up a lot of energy trying to keep its boy and even that hadn't been enough. And now it felt that something was going to take him away further. That wasn't acceptable. It had tried to stop it, but it didn't have enough energy to continue to make things happen that far from it. Maybe if it eased up around Sunnydale. Too bad, it was emotional and didn't have enough sentience to think things through.

* * *

Grissom strode into the lab, heading straight for Greg Sanders. It had been over two weeks since Xander had entered his life. One week since Greg had retrieved the necessary samples from Xander for a second time. He had been forced to fill out the paperwork for his son's birth certificate with the mother unknown. Now, hopefully, Alexander Grissom could have that portion of his birth certificate filled out.

"Greg."

Greg looked up from his sample. "Oh. Hey, Grissom. The results came back from Miami. Hold on, let me finish this."

Quickly finishing with the sample, Greg sealed and signed off on the evidence. Reaching over to his old textbooks, Greg pulled out a thick manila envelope, its flap open. He grabbed the papers from the CODIS search he had done earlier. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face his boss.

"Well?" Grissom asked impatiently.

"Well . . . there's some weird results," Greg said nervously.

Grissom looked at Greg with worry. "Weird?"

"Yes. Uh," Greg paused, unsure how to tell him. "Where's Xander this morning?"

Grissom frowned. "He's at the daycare. Now tell me, what is wrong with my son?"

Greg blinked. "Nothing's wrong with him. It's just that the results came back and well. . . .he has no mother. Here, look."

Greg pushed the papers into Grissom's hands. Grissom looked them over as Greg continued, "I ran it through CODIS five times. Each time I got the same result. I even asked Valera to run the sample again to make sure there wasn't some error when she broke down the DNA for us."

Grissom looked up, his eyes wide in shock. "How is this possible? This says Xander has two fathers."

Greg waved his hands. "Oh that's not as hard as you might think. All you need is an egg, biological samples from the two males. Subtract the original maternal DNA; add in the two male donors. Start the cell mitosis, and once the zygote is far enough along, just place it in a surrogate mother. Instant baby with two fathers."

Grissom looked down at the papers. "And he is the other father?"

"As I said, I checked five times," Greg nodded, before he asked, "So, you gonna call him and tell him the good news?"

Grissom looked up startled.

"Well, you're not gonna leave him in the dark are you? He has a right to know."

Grissom shook his head. "No. I'll tell him. But I don't think over the phone is the best way to find out you're a father."

Greg snorted. He ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I guess so."

Grissom looked at Greg thoughtfully. "You still on vacation next week?"

Greg blinked at the abrupt change in topic. "Yeah. Why?"

"What were you planning on doing?" Grissom asked.

Greg looked at Grissom, confused. "I told you before, I'm going to visit my old friend. Why?"

Grissom smiled. "I know you deserve all that vacation time. But do you think you could do me a favor?"

Tbc.

Next time: Old Friends. New Daddy?


End file.
